


Two Worlds, One Family

by Drimeth



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caleb Widogast Needs a Hug, Frumpkin is the best cat, M/M, Modern AU, Swapping Realities, The Cad/Caleb is later, The Molly/Caleb is one reality, collage AU, eventual Caduceus/Caleb, therapy is good for the soul
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:01:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23956570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drimeth/pseuds/Drimeth
Summary: Inspired by From Me To You by MarmonielThe Mighty Nein has handled a lot. Dragons, evil cults, a few gods more or less, and a very high Beau.But will Caleb handle being cast into a world so far from his own his own friends are foreign to him?
Relationships: Caduceus Clay/Caleb Widogast, Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 16
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

Caleb had to wonder why this happened to them as often as it did, as he used his Cat’s Claw to knock down some of the weird underground dunamency practising cultists. He didn’t fully know what they were doing yet, having not yet gotten to the altar of the ceremony they interrupted.

He did know it was bad since someone yelled something about a sacrifice. 

Caleb finally sees his chance and makes a break for the altar, ready to save the papers for the Bright Queen. He slipped behind Beau to avoid getting attacked by another cultist and ran up the steps.

“You will not stop us! We will spread to all the realms!” The seemingly about to be sacrificed one screamed, standing beside someone with an enchanted dagger.

Caleb replied by casting Fireball. He went to knock back the other one but he attacked with the dagger, slicing Caleb’s arm.

“YOU FOOL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!? ”The apparent leader and sacrifice screamed. Before he could yell more, Veth got an arrow into his face and he went limp. A floating lollipop knocked down the other and smacked him again for good measure.

“That’s all of them?” Fjord called out, everyone doing head counts, except for Jester who came to make sure Caleb was alright.

“I’m sorry Caleb! I tried to hit him before he stabbed you!” Jester said as she healed the cut.

“It’s alright, barely hurt.” Caleb assures her before focusing on the papers. From what he could understand, what with not everything in common, a lot of it was about connecting two possible timelines. 

“Can we take a rest here? I don’t want to walk all the way back up!” Veth said as she went around looking for her bolts.

“I can send us to the Lucid Bastion but a rest would be good.” Caleb agreed. He checked his arm and saw the light scar from Jester's healing looked normal. “But send a message first.”

“Okay! Hey Bright Queen! We got all the cultists and their paperwork! We’re gonna take a small rest and bring it all back very soon!” A small pause, then “poop!”

Everyone laughed at her insistence to use all her words, sitting down as the Bright Queen acknowledged what they said.

Caleb settled down to read over what he got, feeling a bit more tired this time from the fight. He poured over everything but his eyes kept drooping lower and lower. Just a moment with them closed won’t be so bad right?

Caleb settled down a bit and rested his eyes, and as he drifted he could faintly hear someone yelling his name.

He didn’t worry as he slipped away, totally relaxed and calm.


	2. Chapter 2

When Caleb opened his eyes, he found he was not in a deep cave with dead cultists surrounding him, with his friends making fun of him for falling asleep while reading.

What he finds instead is he is sitting at the weirdest desk he has ever seen, with papers covered in both his own writing and strange blocky texts. The paper itself was odd too. So thin and all exactly the same.

His spellbook was thankfully sitting beside him and he pulled it close, checking his amber to make sure everything was near him.

He was also quick to realise he was wearing the strangest clothing he has ever seen. It has Words written upon it about some sort of collage. He moves it a bit more and realizes it’s in fact Rosohna College.

Did he get accepted into something? Should he find Essek?

“Caleb! Did you fall asleep at your desk again?” Caleb jumped. 

Veth! Oh gods at least he had her.

The door, which is also very plain white like a thicker piece of this paper, just pushed into the wall and Nott poked her green head in. “I told you to go take a nap, not work!”

Caleb just kind of stares. Was this a dream? Was this some sort of trap to confuse his mind? She was a little goblin. They fixed that. They helped her become Veth again and be happy in her body again.

“Caleb?”

“Sorry… I Uh… _Ja_ , sorry.”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Uh… Just a headache. Nothing to worry about.” His head was swirling with everything so off and weird. It wasn’t a lie because even if this isn’t Veth, it was Nott, and he cared too much for Nott to ever hurt her by blatantly lying- not anymore.

“Do you want some tea? We have some from Caduceus still!” Nott offered. “That one he said was good for when you’re stressed.”

Oh that has to taste the same even if it was some he hasn’t actually tried before. “ _Ja_ , that sounds perfect. Thank you Nott.”

Nott smiled so wide and sharp as she scurried off and Caleb mourned his failed spell. Or maybe this really was just a dream to torment him.

At the least he could find Caduceus and get some advice.

He looked around, taking stock of everything as Nott made the tea. He had a bed, bookcases, and a window but that was where the normality ended. The bed was covered in blankets that looked fluffier than even the Lavish Chateau had. It was in impossible colours, and part of Caleb wondered if it was a prank from Jester.

The walls were an unnatural white, and outside the window was what looked like pillars of grey smooth rock with other windows. And everything was so _clean_. Was this the school upon the shirt he wore? At least even if the material was odd his pants looked normal. Near his bed however instead of the usual boots was some softly domed… shoes? It reminded him of the slippers from the spa. And they had strings as if they were supposed to be tied up.

For something so small why would they need to be tied up?

Nott eventually came back with a strange looking cup that said #1 Wizard in that same strange script. But it smelt right and Caleb needed something to make sense. “Now it is hot and I even boiled the water on the stove instead of heating it in the microwave but I still think it makes no difference.”

_What on any plane ever was a microwave?_ Caleb thought as he sipped the tea and relaxed. This felt right. Even if this drinking mug looked strange. 

He looked over Nott, who was not covered in bandages to hide what she is from everyone else. She seemed to have on a large shirt with the same writing on it and the strangest blue pants. It hugged her legs and was a material that reminded him of flour sacks. She was barefoot but she was still more open than he had ever seen her.

And then Frumpkin trotted in and everything was right for a moment. Caleb set down the drink to cuddle and cling to this piece of sanity. If he had Frumpkin here then everything would be okay. 

“I’m gonna head out. You finished your classes for the day right?” Nott asked, clearly still worried about him. Caleb nodded, face hidden against a tolerant Frumpkin. “Okay, text me if you need anything.”

What did she mean, text her? Maybe it’s a new way of sending messages? What if that strange paper was enchanted and Nott had a similar one in order to message long distance?

That sounded like something he could work on. Like a sending stone with writing. It could be useful when you couldn’t speak.

Inspired, Caleb got up, cuddling Frumpkin more as he started working on the idea when a weird buzzing sound startled him, which sent Frumpkin running off.

Caleb tried to find the source of the buzzing sound and discovered a strange rock, no. It was made of some form of metal. What kind of contraption was this? He touched something, and the object lit up, displaying the time and other wording. 

**[Don’t forget game night is tonight babe! ;) <]** Was upon the screen. Above those words was a small purple image of a demon that was smiling.

Slowly Caleb set down the device, and sat upon the bed. Slowly he tried to remember to breathe, unsure what anything even was. None of this was right. Nothing was okay, no matter what he told Nott. He tried to remember how to breath. 

And it was Nott again! How did he fail her!? Why was she in that form that hurt and upset her so much!? And why did the strange things not bother her!? The light up object continued to buzz at random intervals, sitting almost innocently on the desk.

This wasn’t right. None of this made sense! Where was his Veth!? Where was his normal clothing and the things that were real!?

Caleb’s thoughts kept spiraling and spiraling until,

“Caleb!”

His head snapped up, ready to cast as he looked for the danger but small clawed hands held his tight. He tried to struggle but quickly realized it was Nott holding him, and the sun has moved quite a bit. “Caleb what is going on? Are you okay?”

“N… Nein…” Caleb forced himself to admit to her. She got that soft look in her eyes, the one she now really only looked at Yeza and Luc with. They deserved it more than he did, Caleb knew that. But he did miss it and welcome the touch on his cheek. He was proud of Veth, loved her even, but he selfishly missed Nott, sometimes. 

“Maybe we should cancel game night. Just stay here, you and me. Jester can just deal with it.”

“Jester?” She was in this nightmare too? Were the others? He wants to know who else was here! “No I… I want to see them…”

Nott frowned and gripped his chin, surveying him. “Have you taken your pills today? You took them in the morning right?” 

“I… I don’t know.” Caleb didn’t want to lie but he has no idea what drugs he supposedly was taking.

His heart felt like it stopped for a moment. 

Was he back in the asylum? He didn’t want to go back. He killed to escape and he will kill to never return.

“Caleb if you are having a bad day I don’t want to make you-“

“Nott please. I need to see everyone. _Bitte_.” Caleb pleaded. He wanted to see if they were all okay. What if whatever has happened to him has hurt them too? And the asylum could fake one person, but the rest of the Nein was so complex and strange that there was no way they had enough people to do it.

Nott stared at him for a bit, taking in the tremble he now had in the fear of the possibility and sighed. “Okay fine. We’ll just have a movie here then. Do you think you can handle a movie right now?”

“M… maybe a card game?” He didn’t know what a movie was but the idea of doing something new was not making him feel any better.

“Okay. I’ll call and let them know. A few people tried getting a hold of you and no one could. You had us worried.”

_“Tut mir Leid.”_

“Just lay down until they get here. I’ll reheat your tea.”

Caleb nodded and laid down on the softest bed and blanket ever. Even better than Jester’s home, but the material felt so different than anything he has ever felt before. Must be expensive. It probably really was from Jester in that case.

Frumpkin came back and laid against his neck, allowing Caleb to pet him as he closed his eyes. He didn’t feel safe but that part of his heart that trusted his friends let him rest for now.

He hoped things would be normal when he woke up again.

~~~~~~

Caleb returned to awareness with the feeling of fingers combing through his hair. The materials around him haven’t changed so he is still in the weird place with the not-Nott and nothing being right.

He rolled over and spotted a purple tail flickering.

A purple tail he hasn’t seen since before they found Caduceus Clay.

“Hey hon. I heard you were having a bad day?”

Caleb flinched away hard, looking up at the stunned expression of one Mollymauk Tealeaf. An impossible Mollymauk. This was impossible and he had to be back in the asylum and someone was playing a cruel trick on him.

Caleb moved back more and fell off the bed with a yell and heavy Thud. “Nein! Nein I’m not going back!”

“Caleb! It’s okay. You’re safe.” The fake-Mollymauk tried to assure him, but instead of coming towards him, he backed away towards the door. Caleb watched him glance over his shoulder, then move away again, away from both exit and wizard.

That… was not something anyone would do if they wanted to keep someone in the room.

“Caleb! Molly! What did you do to him!?”

“Stay out Nott! He’s having a bad day!” Molly called back even as Nott rushed in and jumped onto the bed. Caleb looked up at her, mentally going through the spells he had prepared for the day. But what if he didn’t prepare anything? Where was his component’s pouch? At the least he always had Fire Bolt.

“Caleb- it’s okay. No one will hurt you. You’re safe here. It’s okay.” Nott said, staying on the bed as Caleb scrambled to his feet. He was dead if he stayed prone. How many times had any of them been turned against each other?

“Caleb?”

He looked over and saw Jester and Beau looking in, also concerned. Jester was wearing a very simple dress compared to everything else she owns but it still looked normal for her.

Beau on the other hand had a weird red and white criss-cross shirt with a ripped off sleeve and a smaller grey shirt under it. It looked too thin to be of any use outside of sleepwear.

“Hey buddy, it’s okay. Do uh, you need someone punched?”

“Not helpful Beau!” The fake-Mollymauk snapped at her.

“Hey fuck you! Sometimes it does help him! He said it made him know everything is normal!”

“Clearly he thinks nothing is normal!”

“And you never think!”

“Hey! Stop yelling.” Fjord could be heard behind them, thankfully using his own voice. “Can you let Molly and Nott handle this? Too many people might make it worse.”

“It is making it worse.” The fake-Mollymauk said. He glared until someone made the other two move away, leaving the door open.

Caleb tried his best to breathe, still looking between the two. This fake-Mollymauk must have seen something because his expression changed. Along with the regular worry and concern he looked… sad.

“Nott?”

“Do you have an idea? He might have forgotten his pills today.”

“It might be a bit worse than a bad day.” The Fake Mollymauk said. “I haven’t seen him this bad before. Caleb? Do you know where you are?”

Caleb shuffles back a bit, uncomfortable with the attention on top of his already nervous state. Without his jacket and components pouch, he had limited options. He looked down and finally noticed the scars on his arms.

They were wrong.

His were long and thin and measured and precise.

These were more burns. Horrible burns. The spots on his fingers looked better, like people focused healing there and the rest he had to let heal naturally.

“Caleb, please talk to us. I know this might be scary but we would never hurt you.” The fake-Mollymauk continued. 

Caleb looked between the two of them, breathed. “I am… at a school?”

Cale watched the two of them relax just a bit. “Good! Good Caleb! Do you know where?” Nott asked now, trying to follow the Fake Mollymauk’s lead.

Caleb looked down at the weird shirt again. “Rosohna, so I, I am, er… in Xhorhas?”

Seeing their smiles made his heart both jump and drop. Gods he missed Molly’s smile. He missed the way he brightened up any room he went into. Molly used to be larger than life itself.

“You are doing really well hon. Let’s try something also simple. What are our names?”

“Mollymauk Tealeaf, and…” He hesitated for a moment, then went with the name he was sure she was more used to at the moment. “Nott the Brave.”

“Oh! Oh show him that picture we took during our first day here!” Nott suggested.

“Good idea.” Molly pulled out a weird colourful thing with a very strange material and started touching the front. The way it looked reminded him of the thing on the desk that had a glass front and created light only in one direction.

“Here we go. Do you remember this?” The Fake Mollymauk turned the thing to Caleb who took a step back, unsure of if it would cast any effects on him. When it didn’t, he moved a bit closer and tried to look.

It… wasn’t something he quite understood. There were his friends, the rest of the Mighty Nein, wearing more of the weird outfits. But it was so small but so much detail. He has only seen that much detail in the grand portraits in places of high renown. And the Caleb in this picture is smiling in a way Caleb himself had not done in so very long.

Did that one not hold the same sins as he did?

“Caleb? Are you okay? This is one of your favourite pictures. I got others of that day too.” He ran a finger over the glass and the image moved away to a new one but Caleb didn’t look long enough as he took a few steps back.

“What magic is that? Was ist das?”

The fake Mollymauk pulled it away at Caleb’s reaction. “That’s… new…”

“It’s a phone Caleb. I know, Molly has an ugly case on it. Yours is on your desk.” Nott said.

Caleb looked over at it. A… phone? It could hold small paintings in it? “I… I don’t…”

“What about the video of Hupperdook?”

“Video?” Caleb had to ask. A painting so small could be explained, even if the smallest images in lockers were much simpler. But he has never heard of a video.

The fake-Mollymauk was still looking at Nott, phone loose in his hand. 

“Here it is!” Nott touched something and the sound started playing before Caleb saw the front.

It was moving images like the mirror Allura lent them. But it was… him. He was laughing and leaning on Molly and he could hear the sound of fireworks and cheers, but this was not possible. It must be some sort of illusion. Yes, that made sense. An illusion of something that happened. These phones must record like the stone they used on the yetis.

He finally manages to tear his eyes from the device to actually look at this fake Mollymauk, and finds the strangest assortment of fabrics yet, even for Mollymauk’s tastes. A blindingly-yellow top stops before his midriff, a long multicoloured, ridiculously-patterned silk robe sits over it, and with a harsh pang, it reminds Caleb of a jacket he last saw in the breeze- and a thick leather strip wrapped around his throat. He has loose grey pants tied at his bellybutton, and his jewelry is as ever present as it always was. Even the tattoos he could see were correctly placed and vibrant as he remembered.

Caleb would hate it all if he didn’t look at the desk and see that the infamous jacket of a hundred colours was resting on the back of the simple wood chair. Just seeing it made Caleb relax and know this really was Mollymauk.

“Feeling any better, love?” Mollymauk asked him.

“A… a bit?” Caleb said. So many things made no sense, but at the least he was not in the hands of the asylum. Whatever was happening, he was among friends.

“I’m glad to hear it. Nott said you wanted to do some card games, so let’s take a look at everything Jester brought with her.” Mollymauk said, smiling so gentle that Caleb had to return it, shaky though it was. 

Nott moved closer, and when he didn’t flinch she took his hand and led him to the main room.

The hallway was also in a strange, stiff design and while there was not much for furniture, what was there, hinted that the strange design must frequent this place. At the end of the hall was the Mighty Nein. Everyone was crowded into a shared space, Caduceus hunched to avoid the ceiling, Fjord and the rest of the girls sprawled across more furniture and the ground. 

“Mister Caleb, I heard you liked my tea? I brought over a new blend.” Caduceus said, heading into the kitchen to heat the water with the weirdest stove he has ever seen. Maybe a heat metal enchantment on the spiralled metal? 

_“Ja_ , tea sounds great.” Caleb agreed.

“Hey uh… feeling better?” Beau asked, lounging against a chair and tilting it back a bit.

“A bit. We are doing card games?” He hoped for a bit of normal.

“Yeah! I got a great new deck!” Jester pulled it out. Fjord looked over and instantly looked away, cheeks darkening. 

“Damn It Jester, really!?”

“Is it dicks?”

“Of course it is, it's Jester!” Nott said as she looked over.

“No dicks please.” Caleb chuckled as he sat down. “Think of Fjord and Yasha.”

Everyone seemed to relax when Caleb spoke, and Jester actually swapped decks. Well, eventually. She had to tease Fjord one more time before they could actually settle down and start playing different games.

Caduceus cooked and everything felt normal. Dip and bread, crackers and cheese, everything simple and expected. Although he didn’t understand everything they were talking about, they did at least sound like themselves. 

“Didn’t you say you wanted to try that new thing from that book you got?” Jester asked Caduceus, as the games lasted well into the night.

“Today didn’t feel like the right day.” Came the always casual reply.

Caleb felt a bit bad. Clearly the Wildmother warned him that Caleb was not okay. 

That made him pause. Was the Wildmother watching? Was it the same one that had been there that day they found the Blooming Grove?

Caleb looked around and then down at his cards in hand. Maybe that can be asked tomorrow. Caleb will make sure to ask him first thing in the morning. 

They sat and made jokes, a few Caleb didn’t quite get but when he did everyone seemed to smile even more.

As midnight neared (11:56, Caleb could still thankfully recall), everyone was slowing down and getting ready to settle. “Ugh I don’t want to drive home.” Beau tossed down her failing hand and leaned back in her chair.

“You picked an off campus apartment for a reason.” Jester teased, tail flickering as she took the winning pot for herself.

“You… could stay here?” Caleb suggested. Everyone stopped and stared at him.

“Uh… if you’re having one of your bad days- Ow! Molly!” Beau glared at him.

“Beau, shut up.” Molly glared at her.

Caleb frowned. “Do… we not share rooms at times?” Was that something they also didn’t share?

“Well not since we actually got rooms!” Jester explained.

“Then one night would be okay? I… I want to know you are all safe.” Caleb explained. He could not imagine not having them close after everything he has experienced.

Molly looked the most upset as he said that. “Just one night. Closer to get to class in the morning Beau.”

“I don’t know…”

“I’ll stay.” Yasha said.

“... yeah why not?”

Caleb smiled a bit. Of course that convinced her. Some things don’t change.

Jester and Nott started making plans, grabbing and tossing blankets on the floor so it’s comfortable, as if that has ever actually bothered any of them before.

“Nott, will you sit beside me tonight?” Caleb asked as he went back into the room to find the bell and wire required for Alarm.

“Of course Caleb. I’ll take the right and Molly can have the left. Or did you like it the other way…” 

“... We shall see how it looks when we settle down, _Ja_?” Caleb fought a blush over the idea of being held by Molly. He had put those thoughts from his head as he found them. This was not his home and that cannot be his late Mollymauk.

“Alright, Caleb!” Nott smiled up at him as he headed back and Cale started setting up the alarm around the whole room, not going to risk any of them.

No one was looking at him once he finished, but in a suspicious way that screamed they had all just been staring him down beforehand.

Well, besides Mollymauk. Molly was still looking. Molly was looking and looked… hurt. A good chunk of the group had stripped out of their own strange wears into what looked more like usual sleepwear.

Caleb himself just settled down as he was, fine with the material after being in them all day. Molly was at his back but thankfully made no move to touch him. Nott settled in her usual spot and Caleb watched as Frumpkin came over to settle in his usual spot.

The sound of everyone he knew and trusted settling down around him was able to lure him into a slumber with the promises of sense in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

_Caleb sighed in relief as he walked into the Xorhaus with Molly. “I’m sorry- I don’t think I’ve spent enough time with you lately. Essek’s lessons are amazing but, then, so are you.”_

_“And we thought I was the dramatic one.” Molly smiled and it lit up the whole of the city, forget the room._

_”Caleb! Come help us!” Jester called from another room. “We got cookies!”_

_Caleb gave Molly a gentle kiss on the cheek as they went into the house, smiling at his parents as they helped Caduceus with the cooking. Beau and Yasha were standing to the side- helping by being out of the way._

_“Hallo Mutter, Vader. Are they bothering you much?”_

_Beau punched his shoulder but it barely registered. Caleb just smiled as Molly pulled him away, kissing his arm to make it feel better as if he were a cleric. Fjord was sitting with Yeza as Veth and Luc practiced aiming. Yeza looked nervous but Fjord kept assuring him that everything was okay._

_His mother came over and kissed his head, just like she did when he was a child. “Can you get the plates to set the table please?”_

_”Ja, of course, Mutter.” Caleb went to the cabinet that had held their dishes since his father was a boy, pulling down the well loved plates he would one day use for his own family._

_When he turned around there was a faint smell in the air. “Mutter? Vader?”_

_Everything is fine.” His father assured him, even as the calm scene around them started burning._

_The air that entered Caleb’s lungs turned to ice as blood started staining Molly’s shirt, eyes going dim even as he smiled. The sound of a fire crackling rose above the roar of blood in his ears as the home glowed orange and red._

_Everyone started burning, still laughing and playing as their skin started bubbling and turning a sickening black._

_”NEIN! NO, STOP!” He tried to grab his parents, those closest to him, and watched as they crumbled into ash._

_”Come on, Caleb!”_

_“Join us man!”_

_Join in!”_

_Caleb watched as everyone encouraged him to burn with them. He shook his head, enveloped by a smell that will never leave him. His failure all over again brings him to his knees._

_Molly didn’t burn._

_Caleb screamed as Molly bled, fire lighting up his dead eyes as the fires played harmlessly off him. “You let me die.” So happy and friendly even as the heat engulfed Caleb as it should have so long ago._

~~

The sky was still black and near starless as Caleb forced his eyes open. It hurt to breathe, memories of his lungs coated in ash and smoke, his skin burning with heat, without any real danger around. This body knew fire too. 

He sat up, head between his knees and tried so hard just to breathe again.

It was a simple nightmare, but it ruined any chance of him sleeping for the rest of the night.

After a few minutes he lifted his head, counting bodies and watching the chests move to assure himself that they are still alive. One body missing. 

He realized that there was someone else awake, standing on the balcony. A thin tail flickering with what might be nerves and worry.

Caleb watched him for a moment before getting up. Maybe some company could do him some good after seeing everyone burn.

Molly turned and helped as Caleb struggled to figure out the door, pushing and pulling before realizing it slid to the side. “Caleb, you- You should be asleep.”

_“Ja,_ so should you, yet here we are.” Caleb said, stepping out and looking up. There were so few stars in this world.

Mollymauk was staring at him, keeping a friendly distance between the two. He stared and he studied. Caleb turned and did the same, taking in everything that was different than the man he had to bury.

“You’ve been acting weird all day.” Mollymauk said. “And not like when you’re having an off day. You aren’t acting like the Caleb I know.”

Caleb looked down, taking in that they were three floors up. Not a bad place to be, just in case something happened. Too many times they had things attacking from most sides. Now they had to get up here to attack them.

“I… I don’t think I am.” Caleb finally said out loud. “You look at me in a way I have not seen before.”

Mollymauk let out a small humourless laugh. “Never seen someone love you before?”

Caleb’s head jerked, finally placing it. That was why Mollymauk pet his head, why he could order the others around about how to treat Caleb. The Mollymauk that lived grew to love this new, other Caleb. 

“I’m sorry you are stuck with me then.” Caleb heard weird honks in the distance, that belonged to no animal he had ever heard of. And there were lights. So many lights. Not so much in the square buildings around him but further off. It was like the stars missing from the sky had fallen and stayed in the city. 

“How many times do I have to say that it isn’t stuck with you when I love you?” Mollymauk asked.

“But you don’t… Not this me. You love the Caleb you know.” Caleb tried explaining.

“Darling you are making no sense. You should probably get more sleep.” Molly said, brows scrunching up slightly.

“I am not… from this plane. Mine is so so different.” Caleb tried to be very clear. “We have none of those strange lights contained in jars controlled by a switch, or a stove with a strange heat metal enchantment, or your sending stones that have a mirror of some sort. This is not my home.”

Molly stared for a while, as if waiting for the punchline. Eventually he turned back to staring at the scenery. “So… you really aren’t the Caleb I know?” Molly asked. Caleb nodded.

“I don’t know what happened, part of me still thinks this is a dream.” Caleb looked down again.

“Well that makes this a sexy dream if I’m in it.” Molly joked.

“You seem to be taking this better than I am.” Caleb said, not looking at him. It was hard to look at him.

“Well… I love you so I’d rather not try and upset you anymore than I already have. Plus, you know, I’m a bit easy going.”

Caleb laughed slightly. _”Ja_ , the easiest”.

“You see, you do know me.” Molly sounded happy. Caleb knew it would be painful but he still looked up at Molly’s smiling face.

He couldn’t look too long though once he noticed that he was wearing the colourful jacket that marked a grave far, far away from here.

Molly looked at it as well. “Do you recognize this?” He sounded hopeful, like maybe his Caleb was still there, waiting to blink back to his current memories and recall his life here, once more. If only he could remember it. Oh well, Caleb was used to disappointing people. 

“ _Ja_ … Your Jacket. It is the same.”

“Aw, I tried to make it unique.”

“It is.” Caleb assured him. “Only Mollymauk Tealeaf could ever make that.”

Molly smiled again and twirled it off in order to rest it on Caleb’s shoulders. “Well, then here. Something familiar.”

He stands there, both warmed and hurting from the loss he still held.

Molly just looked back out into the darkness, seeing much further than Caleb could. They stood in silence for a time, the time ticking over to 4am before Molly spoke again. 

“Where are you from? ‘Cause I don’t think this is your dream, what with me being real and all.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how I got here. We were sent to take care of some weird cult and-“

“I’m sorry what? You’re a cop?” Molly asked.

“ _Nein_. More like assholes for hire. We… have fought a few dragons, magic hags, Met Jester's father and Mother…”

“Whoa whoa, you met Jester’s father!? Who is he? Is he cool?” Molly interrupted, eyes wide at the things Caleb was saying.

“He… is a crime lord.”

“... Don’t tell her that okay?”

“ _Ja_ , fair. Probably harder to meet him when we aren’t doing slightly sketchy things. Did you and your Yasha still meet at the carnival?” Caleb asked.

“Yep. She took me in after I Uh… got kicked out of my place. Mom and Dad didn’t quite approve of me.” Molly said.

Caleb didn’t even consider the fact that Molly may have had a life that was not waking up in dirt. “I am… glad you have people that care now.” He could not tell that past to this Mollymauk. This one could be so much happier. “The Mighty Nein always seems to care.”

“Our drunk bar name is in your world?”

“Kings and Queens call upon us by that name.”

Molly howled in laughter and Caleb smiled despite himself. It’s been so long since he heard that laugh.

“You are full of surprises.”

“It was your fault we even talked to each other. Jester was mocking me for not bathing myself and you came in larger than life, with Yasha behind you.” Caleb fondly remembered that day now. “Pretended to read Jester’s fortune and invited us to see your show.”

“Pretended?” Molly squawked. “You don’t believe in readings?” Molly leaned over the rail to try and meet Caleb’s eyes.

“I believe you aren’t one to do so.” Caleb teased just a little bit.

“Was that a joke?”

_“Nein.”_

“Pity, it was a good one.”

Caleb laughed slightly, looking around. “Hopefully my friends will enlist the help of other mages to figure this out. Then you can have the correct Caleb in your home.”

“Well, until then,” Molly moved closer to wrap an arm around Caleb. “We should warn these friends about what happened in case our study buddy Beauregard can find answers with that cult she joined.”

“The Cobalt Soul? That is just an organization that fights corruption and values knowledge being open to all.” Caleb corrected. “The Traveller is more a cult.”

“Jester will get mad at you if you say that.”

“She always does.”

Molly nodded and looked out. “I’m just glad Deucy helped Fjord out. The Wildmother is a much prettier god.”

“I did notice he was using his real accent, not Vandran’s.” Caleb said, glancing back at the sleeping figures.

“Vandran? He never said any names for his accent.” Molly said.

“Then that will be proof to the others.” Caleb said. He just tells them some truths and they will know that he was not supposed to be here.

He wondered if his friend, the ones he knows, are looking for him yet. They might like the other sinless Caleb.

“How many secrets do you have Caleb Widogast?” Molly asked him.

Caleb looked down at his arm, with burns and not painful scars that were different sizes and shapes but every memory is perfect.

“Many. I hold many.”

They fell back into silence for three minutes before Molly yawned as obnoxiously as he could. “Whelp, We should head to bed.”

“ _Ja_. We should. It’s 4:26.” Caleb said.

“That internal clock is so useful. I never have to remember the time myself.” Molly reached up and cupped Caleb’s cheek before remembering himself. Caleb stayed frozen in place, missing this gentle touch even if his was so rare and often had a cheek slap right after.

“Right… Sorry.” He patted Caleb’s cheek and headed inside. “Jester is going to bother you the moment you wake up. Get some sleep while you can.”

Caleb still knew sleep will be unlikely but he went back in as well. He laid down, and smiled when Frumpkin took his place on Caleb’s chest.

“Sleep well.”

_”Gute Nacht.”_

Caleb closed his eyes, but doesn’t remember falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Caleb was uneager to wake up, blinking his eyes open very slowly, then slowly closing them.

Apparently not slow enough. “Caaaaaaaleeeeeeb. I saw your eyes open!”

“Jester,” Molly admonished, doing something a bit further away. “Give him room to breathe.” Jester groaned and moved back so her nose was no longer touching Caleb’s face.

Caleb tried waking up again, this time to the unnatural light of the living room and kitchen. It seems like everyone else was up already. Caleb sat up, knowing he will have to explain to them all what Molly and him had concluded last night.

“So what’s the plan today? Classes and stuff?” Nott asked.

“Beau already headed off to class.” Jester said as she took some bacon from Fjord’s plate without him stopping her. “I have two classes and a lab today. Fjord?”

“Yeah I got a project to turn in.” Fjord said. “Caduceus? You?”

“I was going to tend to my garden and then help Caleb with that idea you had the other day.”

Well, that was as good an opening as any. “Uh, actually… There might be a problem with that.”

He chanced a glance at Molly, and was met with a look that asked ‘ _Are you sure?_ ’

Caleb nodded and steeled himself. “I Uh… I’m not the Caleb Widogast you know.” If he was going to get home and bring the better Caleb back to the family who loved him, he had to be honest.

And the only people he has been honest with in a long time were sitting around him.

“Well-” Jester started, “we know you have bad days Caleb.”

“Ah, no, Jester, I think this is magic, not, ah, me being me. There was a spell that… I don’t know. I believe it may have sent my mind to this world, maybe possibly took yours to mine. I will need to do some research.” 

Everyone swapped looks. Fjord leaned forward to speak. “Caleb, I know you had… a rough time yesterday.”

“He’s telling the truth, Fjord.” Molly interrupted. “I believe him, at least.”

Nott got up from the table to approach him. “Caleb? Are you telling the truth?”

“ _Ja_ , I am.” Caleb couldn’t look at her. He loved Nott as Nott or as Veth, and didn’t want to see disappointment in her eyes. “This is not my home… you are not my Nott.”

“Oh yeah? Prove it then!” Jester said, excited for the challenge she issued, if nothing else...

Caleb hesitated, but then, “The accent Fjord had before he started following the Wildmother was Vandran’s, his old captain.” Caleb said.

Fjord stares at him in utter shock. “I… Uh…”

“You lost him when Sabbien sank your boat and you drowned but made it back to shore with the sword.” Caleb continued.

“YOU DROWNED!?” Jester yelled at Fjord as everyone looked at him. Cadences didn’t look surprised so he must have known that part.

“Do you need more proof?” Caleb asked.

“Drowned!?” Everyone was focused on Fjord who looked like he wanted to be swallowed by the ground. Nott jumped onto the table in front of him. “That’s terrible!”

“Why did you never say anything?” Jester asked.

“I didn’t want to worry anyone.” Fjord said. Caleb felt terrible about making him so uncomfortable with this declaration.

“Enough. I’m sorry, I thought it was a little more well known.” Caleb said.

“If we knew someone had drowned we wouldn't be so casual about it!” Jester said.

Caleb could see Nott tense up and said nothing. He would not do this to her. Fjord was one thing, but he couldn't spill Nott’s secrets.

“I think we are getting off topic.” Mollymauk said. “We really need to all help out with finding out what happened and how to fix it.”

Jester gasped and looked at Caleb. “So if you have a different mind, you don’t remember our movie nights?”

“I do not know what a movie is. Many of these things are… fascinating.” And they were. The glass lights above his head were something he never imagined. The amount of skill to have a light spell tucked into such a small space was something Caleb dreamed of doing. Even Caduceus’ and Jester's bottled lights hadn't been so precise, and they had no off switch. 

“Oh my god you guys. We can show Caleb so many things!” Jester said.

“You may want to run.” Caduceus joked as he gave Caleb some tea.

“And miss your food? That would be terrible.” Caleb joked back.

“Is Caduceus vegan in your world?” Nott asked after she finished teasing Fjord.

“I do not know what that means.”

“He only eats plants.” Jester explained, then whispered “but he still makes us really nice stuff.”

Caleb smiled. “ _Ja_ , That is the same. He found many interesting things to garden.” He paused to sip some tea. “And many creatures to turn into tea.”

Caleb was a little surprised by the surprise on everyone else’s face. “Turn into tea?”

Caleb looked at him and he had a sly smile on his face. “That sounds interesting. How does the other me do that?”

“With… your spells or by tending to the Blooming Grove. I never really asked. Something about just what grows in your graveyard.” Caleb said.

“Oh that’s nice.”

“Deuces, do you make people into tea?” Nott asked. Caduceus just focused on breakfast. “Oh my god! Are we drinking people right now!?”

“It still tastes good.” Caleb said to assure the Firbolg. “I do not mind it.”

“Do you have any other bombshells for us?” Jester demanded.

“Not without Beauregard here to hit someone for it.” Caleb said. “I will need her help for many things, if the Cobalt Sol still values knowledge here.”

“I think we can skip classes this once.” Jester said.

“Nope. Not happening. We skip once and we won’t stop.” Fjord said.

“God you are so boring now. You used to be cool.” Nott said.

“Fjord is very cool. He once saved Beau’s life using a whip, his own strength, and sheer willpower.” Caleb wanted to make up for the mistake earlier.

“I what?”

Caleb started explaining what happened with the worm, before the Wildmother brought Fjord into her warmth. Everyone was enthralled and listened with bated breath.

“Oh my god! Fjord! You’re actually cool somewhere!” Nott said. Fjord sighed and looked at her.

“Thanks, Nott.”

“You sound so strong there!”

“I will pick you up and throw you off the balcony.”

Nott blew him off. “Well you can’t.”

“You said that same thing when he turned his back on Uk’atoa.” Caleb said, getting laughs from the others.

“I believe we should get back to the task at hand. Do we take a day off to look into this, or continue our routines, while having Caleb excused from the tasks that he otherwise would do?” Caduceus got them back on track.

“Yeah, we can tell Beau to come back for an important thing after her class.” Jester said and pulled out a phone of her own. With what looked like hundreds of small figures of a weird material dangling off it.

“What… are those?”

Everyone groaned as Jester started a tangent about everything she had, everything just going over Caleb’s head. Some of it was very much not in common.

“Jester, don’t you have your lab on the other side of campus?” Fjord interrupted. 

Jester froze then started running around the room to grab things she left around while panicking before she sprinted out the door. Caleb smiled at the energy she still has. That seems to be the same. “I am surprised she didn’t send a message.”

“Like the spell? That isn’t that allowed legally. But many families use it regardless.” Molly said.

“Spells can be illegal? It’s not necromancy, and even some of them are for Clerics.” Caleb said.

“There are a lot of spells that are dangerous. I think you got away with some because of your research with Essek and going out to study Wizard things.” Fjord said.

Caleb quickly got up and went into his room, ignoring everything else. If he was not supposed to have certain spells then he probably did not have any of the ones he normally uses.

He grabbed his spellbook, it still looked the same, and started flipping.

And flipping.

Caleb felt bile rising in his throat.

None of his spells were missing.

The idea he may have lost one or two did nothing to the fact that everything Ikathon taught him was there.

And if Ikathon was there, then his parents weren’t.

Caleb didn’t hear anyone coming in or trying to get his attention as his memories took over and left him blind and deaf to the world./

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to my beta, the cousin who threw me into this fandom by force. Thanks again for the half year spent on watching the episodes!


End file.
